This week I had the opportunity to get 2 plane rides away from my comfort zone. Since I normally encounter the same 15-20 people day in and day out, I forget about my Green Lantern Tattoo. Oh yeah, I have a Green Lantern Tattoo on my left ring finger. My husband and I got them to commemorate our 5 year wedding anniversary. I guess you could say I’m a nerd by marriage. I’m always surprised when people ask me about it because quite honestly it’s just a part of me now. It’s no longer novelty to me. To me it’s a symbol, not only of my love for my husband but of my willingness to join his “family”. When I took my vows on our wedding day his parents became mine, his little brother is now my little brother. His crazy cousin, you guessed – got added to the list of my crazy cousins.
But something very different happened when I sat in that tattoo shop and willingly donned my own “Scarlet A”, I joined the Nerd community. People I’ve never met see my finger and it opens a window for them to start conversations I never saw myself having. “What did you think of how they did the movie?” “How do you think making the new Green Lantern gay will affect the series?” The crazier thing is, I have answers to these questions. “I really liked the movie, I thought the suit was a little over animated, but Ryan Reynolds was an excellent Hal Jordan.” and “Making the character gay will only open it up to a new series of readers and expand the minds of current readers. Just like making the new Ms. Marvel Muslim is a great step toward diversity in comics. The world of comic books has always been about creating a diverse community and these characters will only aid in that effort.”
Dear co-worker, server and airline worker who I met along my travels,
Thank you for reminding me what it means to be a community and how good it can be to be a Nerd. Thank you for asking me questions and forcing me to think about things I don’t normally think about. I love that the “ring” on my finger is not just something sacred between me and my husband. It’s something sacred between me and all of you. It’s my portable street cred. To all of you nerds, tattooed and un-tattooed, thank you for accepting me.
Sincerely,
Shandi